Validation of the German Parent-Report Anxiety Scale for Autistic Children: Addressing Diagnostic Overlap and Autism-Specific Anxiety Patterns
This validation study examined the German version of the Anxiety Scale for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder-Parent Version (ASC-ASD-P) in 317 youth at an autism clinic, including 120 autistic children, demonstrating excellent internal consistency and convergent validity with established behavioral measures. Autistic youth showed higher anxiety and uncertainty scores than non-autistic peers, confirming the scale's sensitivity to autism-specific anxiety presentations, though some subscales require refinement for broader applicability across the autism spectrum.